But if I try to boot with such a setup the screen turns blank (meaning black) after showing me the initial startup sequence. So something about the KMS doesn't work. I am not able to access anything and I can not determine if the system freezes or not and I can not access log files. I am not sure if I would be when using a live cd to boot.

So what am I doing wrong? Here are some infos that may or not be useful.

Well, as far as determining if the system freezes or not, I'd suggesting using network tools. Ping it, try to SSH into it...

At what point in the boot process do you lose your video -- while the kernel is probing hardware or after init scripts begin loading? Do you have the xdm initscript set to load at boot? Does your backlight remain lit?

If it's just X going out to lunch, you might try hitting fn-ctl-alt-F1 to switch to a text console. I've had that not work even when the system wasn't frozen, though.

Right now I am managing my network with networkmanager and nm-applet and that doesn't grab an ip until X fired up. I will have to change that and give it a try this evening.

I think it went black right after the probing (or during even, I can see kernel messages however). This would be consistent with the fact that I built the radeon driver in the kernel. The backlight remains lit.

fn-ctrl-alt-F1 didn't do anything as expected.
Should I rather build radeon kms as a module? In combination with radeonfb everything works but then it renders on software. Do I need to build in radeonfb and deactivate it otherwise? I think I'll try blacklisting._________________"Linux basiert doch auf DOS oder nicht?" *schüttel*

As far as I know, PowerPC still requires a framebuffer device, otherwise there is no boot console. As of the last time I tried KMS, it was a pretty terrible experience on my PB G4 with an R300. Sleep and screen brightness do not work and it will lock up unless the AGP speed is fixed to 1x. To do this, add this to your yaboot configuration: "append=radeon.agpmode=1"

For what it's worth, with the above configuration, I was able to get DRM working, but the result was slower than the old UMS driver on my Powerbook and with the other drawbacks, having really slow 3D support wasn't worth all the extra trouble. Your priorities might differ though. :)_________________Gentoo PPC FAQ: http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-ppc-faq.xml

Nah. Not really. Most games I play (like battle of wesnoth) are 2d based and work fine without. It is more about having a "perfectly" running system and maybe an opengl drawn video playback. Also I may like to use compiz in the long run and thats not really good on software rendering.

However thanks again for the expertise and fast answers. I couldn't get those infos in such a clarity from the web and I am satisfied by knowing that there is no better way to do it right now._________________"Linux basiert doch auf DOS oder nicht?" *schüttel*